Tracheophyta commonly known as ferns, are millions of years old and fossils show us how long they have been on Earth. There are 10,560 known extant species in the fern family. Ferns do not have flowers or seeds - they have sori underneath the leaves where the spores are made. Spores can travel for hundreds of miles on air currents. When the spores land somewhere nice they grow into very small plants, and then the new grown-up ferns develop from these. In the home, ferns are an excellent choice as houseplants—their lush greenery will complement your flowering plants, they can be grown in everything from clay pots to hanging baskets, and they don’t require full sun to thrive.